Tuesday, April 27, 2010

SPC Showdown - 4/27/2010

If you recall correctly, we had a special SPC Showdown earlier in the month. Today we're going back to normal, pitting two similar products, franchises, or characters together for the sheer thrill of it. You can't ask for much more, can you? In this installment, we see (if any) which controller feels the best, which racing game outpaces the other, and which arcade golf game is truly king of the swing.

PlayStation 3 Controller VS. Xbox 360 Controller

Two great-feeling controllers with wonderful button placement and ergonomic feel are these. Which feels the best?

PlayStation 3 Controller

Sony uses the same controller for yet another generation though anything is better than that blasted boomerang controller from several E3s ago! Everything from the d-pad to the buttons to the symmetrical analog sticks feel good. My problem with this controller are the back shoulder triggers. They don't feel as good as the 360's. They're challenging to press fully.

Xbox 360 Controller

I love the ergonomic handles of this controller. The asymmetric analog sticks feel nice and pleasant as well. It's just a cool-looking and awesome-feeling controller. The caveat of this controller is the horrible, god-awful d-pad which was probably designed by the same folks who built the 360's cooling fans. It's useless, and it's difficult to separate pressing up with pressing left or right.

Winner: TieSonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing VS. Mario Kart Wii

Two great kart titles, both available on Wii. Does Sonic and SEGA outrace Mario's latest karting effort? Let's find out!

Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing

Sonic and friends (and foes, too) head out for some karting chaos of the kickass kind in Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing. The game features twenty outrageous tracks including some from the Sonic the Hedgehog, Billy Hatcher, Super Monkey Ball, and House of the Dead series. Perhaps some more franchises could have been represented, but what we have here is pure, clean unadulterated action of the karting kind. The items are balanced and fair, the AI is challenging without feeling cheap, and the visuals are crisp, colorful, and a joy to look at.

Mario Kart Wii

The king of karts, Mario Kart heads to Wii with sixteen of the best designed tracks in the series' history including Koopa Cape, Daisy Circuit, Bowser's Castle, Coconut Mall, DK Summit, among others. Additionally, there's sixteen retro tracks from the Super Nintendo, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64, Gamecube, and DS versions of the franchise. Playing single-player on the later levels of difficulty is an effort in frustration. The item rape (forgive the term) is incredibly cheap and aggravating. However, with friends the game is a blast to play, and I'd rank it higher than Sonic in that regard. Overall, however...

Winner: Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing

Lips VS. SingStar

The games that will allow you to battle it out with your inner diva, Lips and SingStar. Which sing-sation reigns supreme?

Lips

Lips is Microsoft's answer to the popular SingStar franchise. While it hasn't had as much success, it's doing well overseas, especially in Europe, something it shares in common with SingStar. The beginning track list is much better than SingStar, and the catalog of songs is quite impressive. Singing along with Elton John or whoever is a fun experience.

SingStar

There's one thing Lips doesn't have that SingStar does. That is the greatest progressive rock band of all time in my fact, Yes. Does Lips have Yes at all? No. It does not. SingStar wins automatically. Moreover, there's just a wider selection of songs to choose from previous installments of SingStar from the PlayStation 2 days. My personal favorites come from SingStar Amped and SingStar 80s. Where's my SingStar Yes edition, you nancy boys?

Winner: SingStar

Mario Golf VS. Hot Shots Golf Fore!

Both of these goofy golf games are the best on their platforms. They're simply the best arcade golf titles around. Let's find out why and which chips it in for eagle.

Mario Golf

Mario and company hit the links for some fantastic golf. While there's only six courses in all, they're designed so well that they'll seldom ever get boring. A wide cast of colorful characters are available to play as such as Mario, Wario, Luigi, Yoshi, Peach, Donkey Kong, Bowser, Baby Mario, Plum, Maple, Charlie, Sonny, and many more. There's mini golf, speed golf, ring golf, skins golf, and any other type of golf you can think of. A great game with a great cast, Mario Golf is one of the better golf games out there.

Hot Shots Golf Fore!

The Hot Shots crew is back, and this time they're teeing it off twelve courses, some of which are from past Hot Shots Golf games. Even Ratchet, Clank, Jak, and Daxter are here to pelt some balls off the tee, too! Playing with a specific golfer would raise their experience. The more experience they gain, the more levels they gain. The more levels they gain, the more power shots they can unleash as well as earn new costumes. The game strikes a masterful brilliance between easy and hard difficulties, and it's one game that I continually find myself coming back to.

Winner: Hot Shots Golf Fore!

Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies VS. FlingSmash

Two upcoming Nintendo titles. Which am I most anticipating?

Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies

Sin and Punishment's sequel, Successor of the Skies, features eight levels to plow through. Each of which taking anywhere from 15-45 minutes to complete. It's on an on-rails shooter more akin to Star Fox 64 than a House of the Dead game. The bosses seem fierce and dastardly with weakpoints to take advantage of. We'll see how Sin and Punishment 2 fares when it reaches North American shores June 27th.

FlingSmash

I'm a sucker for colorful titles, and FlingSmash is no exception. The game smashes into your Wii sometime in July, and it promises to be a totally rad game. You use the MotionPlus peripheral (mandatory for the game) to hit a ball through side-scrolling levels, smashing up panes of glass as well as enemies and bosses. Nintendo promises eight unique worlds each with new types of challenges and obstacles. This is the game I'm more excited for-- especially if it releases at a budget price!

Winner: FlingSmash

How would you have decided each of our five battles? Send me your outcomes in our lovely little comment section!